Manage your subscription

A chance to blame extreme weather on climate change

When extreme weather strikes, somebody, somewhere always asks about a link to climate change. It's time we gave straight answers

By Peter A. Stott

IN THE aftermath of hurricane Katrina in 2005, a vigorous debate raged as to whether it was a “normal” natural disaster or a consequence of global warming. Al Gore depicted the devastation of New Orleans in his movie An Inconvenient Truth and linked it to climate change. I became involved during a case before the High Court in London challenging a UK government decision to distribute the movie to schools. I was asked to provide expert written evidence on the extent to which the film correctly represented scientific understanding at the time.